Conventionally, as a method for cutting out noodle threads by a machine, a method has been prevailing, in which a thin noodle strip of a belt-like shape rolled from noodle dough travels between a pair of rollers having cutting blades that rotate oppositely to each other such that the thin noodle strip is cut out into a thread shape. Each of the pair of rollers having cutting blades includes a plurality of blades formed in a circumferential direction and a plurality of grooves formed between the blades. A roller having cutting blades includes a plurality of types of blades such as a square blade type, a round blade type, a kitchen knife type, and the like, depending on shapes of noodle threads to be cut out, shapes of teeth tips, and the like.
For example, the square blade type cuts out a noodle strip by allowing a convex pushing portion (also called a thread) that is formed at one roller to be inserted into a concave receiving portion (also called a groove) at the other roller. Furthermore, the round blade type and kitchen knife type cut out a noodle strip by allowing one tip portion (in a case of the round blade type, a portion having a thin groove (a shallow groove)) of the pushing portion that is formed at one roller to abut the other tip portion (in a case of the round blade type, a portion having a thick groove (a deep groove)) of the receiving portion that is formed at the other roller. In each case, the noodle threads thus cut out end up being pushed into a plurality of spaces that is formed by the rollers facing each other in mesh, i.e. on a groove side in the spaces formed by pushing portions and grooves (the receiving portions).
Since a noodle thread pushed into a groove is in contact with a lateral side of the groove, the noodle thread rotationally travels along with the rotation of the roller. The noodle thread in contact with the lateral side of the groove is scraped from the groove by a scraper having comb-like teeth. More specifically, tips of the plurality of teeth (scraping teeth) formed at the scraper are inserted into the grooves, so that the noodle threads that rotationally travel along with the rotation of the roller are scraped from the grooves. The noodle threads thus cut out are cut at a constant length in a subsequent process.
In addition, there is another problem in manufacturing noodles associated with noodles sticking to each other. It is not preferable if noodle threads stick to each other. Because they would not separate from each other to shape into a ball during cooking or eating, or the noodle threads, which are forcibly separated from each other, may be broken into short pieces.
Thus, a technique associated with preventing noodle threads from sticking to each other has been known. In this technique, the timing for scraping the noodle threads at one roller having cutting blades is adjusted by changing respective positions (with respect to circumferential positions of the roller) of adjacent teeth tips. Such a prior technique of shifting positions of adjacent teeth tips at a scraper to a backward or forward position in a circumferential direction of a roller having cutting blades is described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-210924, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-84554, and Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application Publication No. S57-203787.
Among these, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-210924 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-84554 disclose techniques whereby positions of teeth tips of adjacent comb-like teeth are shifted by differing lengths between adjacent scraping teeth at a scraper.
On the other hand, Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application Publication No. S57-203787 discloses a technique in which the positions of teeth tips of adjacent comb-like teeth are dislocated by using two scrapers for a single roller having cutting blades and by shifting the respective positions of the scrapers to a backward or forward position in a circumferential direction.